Rise of the Wastelanders
by darkproject08
Summary: Years after the Lone Wanderer defeated the Enclave, things in the Capital Wasteland were finally settling down. The Enclave is gone, the Super Mutant numbers were dwindling, and the Brotherhood of Steel was maintaining order. But on the horizon a new threat, and with it a new army. With the Lone Wanderer mysteriously gone, can two brothers help stop the oncoming threat?


**Rise of the Wastelanders**

Chapter 1: 11:23PM, Unknown Location

The smell of rotting wood and decaying flesh filled the air inside of the worn down house. Inside, two men sat, in what used to be the main living room of the house,each on other side of the room. One man, a tall, slender man with a dusty coat and weather beaten glasses, set down his backpack to examine it's contents. He opened the tattered leather bag, combing through it's contents in search of something. He looked over to the other man as he reached further into his bag and pulled out a small, leather bound book. "How far 'till we reach Megaton?" He said as he flipped the book open, thumbing through the worn pages.

"If I had to guess? Probably about a days walk. If we follow the old roads we'll probably see it sometime late afternoon." The other man muttered as he pulled out a rusted 10mm pistol from his side holster, setting it down on a table as he slowly began taking it apart. He grabbed what seemed to be a small rag as he ran it up and down the side of the gun, attempting to remove the dirt and debris from the etched words "Jericho" on the side of the gun. He continued to clean his gun as he spoke to the other man.

"So you know the plan, right Isaac? I need to make sure we split up we aren't meeting again 'till the end of the night."

"Yeah yeah, I know the plan." Isaac said as he closed his book, setting it down on the ground as he began rummaging through his contents again. "We go to Megaton, we split up and ask the locals for work, and we meet up at the end of each night and figure out where we stand with work. I know we're low on caps but is this really necessary to travel all this way? Our village was just fine the way it was Paul..." He sighed as he thought about home. Isaac missed the small village to the south, he missed the people he grew up with, and he missed the simplicity of it all. He adjusted his glasses as he looked towards his Paul, a somber expression on his face.

"I know the village was nice. It was safe, and relaxing, but there was nothing left for us there. The last sources of clean water were drying up, and with it the rest of the village will too. If we had stayed the best we could hope for is to die quickly, and you know that..." Paul said in a bitter tone as he continued scraping the rust off of his gun. Isaac sunk in his seat, thinking about all his friends back home. Paul looked over at him and sighed. He knew his words to Isaac cut deep but it was the truth in his eyes. "Look, I'm not happy about leaving home either-"

"Yes you are, you've always been ready to leave New Laurel ever since you were young.." Isaac said as his eyes shot back up at Paul in anger.

"Seriously? You think this is how I wanted to leave? Isaac I wanted to leave when I was ready, not to be forced out for survival! This past week..this whole walk up north to this place, we've encountered nothing but raiders, super mutants, and radiated animals..." Paul said looking down. He let out an exhausted sigh as he ran his hand through his matted black hair, already graying in some areas. "I just...I wasn't ready for this, and I'm just trying to keep us safe..." Isaac looked over to him with remorse. Feeling bad for what he said, he sighed as he sat next to Paul, patting his back in a comforting manner.

"Paul, we're brothers. It's our job to look out for each other. I know you're trying your best, it's just a lot to get used to..." He looks around the room, trying to think of something to change the topic. "You scout the house yet for belongings?"

"Yeah, just some old clothes and a few books, you want the books?" Paul said as he pulled out one of the books. The pages were slightly faded and burnt, but the writing inside was still legible. He looked over at the title and let out a slight chuckle. "War of the Worlds huh? Worth a read at this point." He tucked the book into his bag and reached through for his sleeping mat and pillow.

"You gonna be up for a while?" Isaac said as he looked at Paul, who went back to cleaning his gun.

"Yeah I'm gonna keep watch for a bit, make sure everything is in the clear. I'll wake you up when it's your turn for watch and at sunrise we'll make our way to Megaton." Isaac nodded in agreement as he lied down on the mat, the feeling of the burnt wood flooring and splinters poking at his back. Paul looked over towards the front of the house. He made sure the door was sealed tight, and the windows were all covered except for one for him to look out of. Paul stared out the window, seeing nothing but pitch black darkness. The sounds of gunfire and screaming could be heard in the distance. "_Sounds like someone else is having it worse than us right now._" He thought to himself as he walked over to his bag, pulling out an old pack of cigarettes. The writing on the box was practically illegible at this point as he opened up the pack and pulled out a cigarette. Without missing a beat, Paul put the cigarette in his mouth as he reached for the matches in his bag. With a flick of his wrist, he lit the match in his hand as he held it close to the cigarette, the tip glowing a bright red and orange from the burning embers. He took a deep inhale in, the end of the cigarette glowing in the dimly lit room as he let out an exhale, smoke pouring out of his mouth slowly as he looked up to the ceiling. He frowned at he looked at the cigarette. "_Damn thing is stale, like always..._" He let out an exasperated groan of frustration as he leaned back down, looking at the disassembled gun in front of him.

"_I hope we find something out there, Isaac. I don't know how much longer we can survive like this..._"He thought as he picked up his rag, cleaning off the firing mechanism of the gun. Determination burned in his eyes. "_Hopefully when we find Megaton everything will be okay..._"


End file.
